2019 is winding down and a new year, as well as a new decade, is just around the corner. You, like others, may be considering appropriate New Year’s resolutions to put on your list for the coming year. They may be centered around improving your health, bettering your diet, curtailing some less-than-envious habits or starting some new productive ones.
Although you may not have thought about it this way, making a few New Year’s resolutions regarding your insurance coverage can tick nearly all these boxes. Diet, health and habits, for instance, can make a difference when you’re shopping for life insurance coverage. Other resolutions you may choose to pursue can positively affect your vehicle insurance costs, such as committing to drive within the speed limit, vowing not to use your cellphone while driving, and making sure your credit rating stays strong. Believe it or not, the strength of your credit rating is a determining factor when figuring your vehicle coverage premium amount.
Potential Resolutions to Consider
Although it seems that most New Year’s resolutions may be centered around health, diet and exercise, we would like to offer some specific ones pertaining to your insurance. We hope you’ll consider some for the upcoming year:
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- It’s not a bad idea to check your policies once a year to make sure your coverages are still current. Any significant changes that have occurred in the past year may require alterations to one or more of your policies. If you’ve had a new baby, gotten a new job, had an addition built onto your home, had a partner who quit an old or began a new job or even completed a driver safety course, you may need to change policy specifics. Too many people look at insurance as a set-it-an-forget-it thing. Resolve to go over your policies and make any needed updates.
- Statistically, more than half of the driving public is under-insured, especially in the liability part of their coverage. The cost of an accident that you cause may be many times the state-required limit of your liability coverage. Experts recommend carrying between one-half and one million in vehicle liability protection. Resolve to increase your liability limit.
- Liability coverage shortfalls also extend to most people’s homes. This is doubly important if your home includes a swimming pool, trampoline or treehouse. Resolve to either increase your home’s liability protection or add a $1M umbrella policy.